Captain's Confidence

It is a bit of a transitional period for the club but it happens in football and we will come through it"

Karl Henry

Skipper Karl Henry is still confident Wolves can come through the current transitional period and be successful again under new boss Dean Saunders.

Henry admits it has been a hugely frustrating 18 months for Wolves, and remains appreciative of the support of the club’s fans through some very testing times.

But he is buoyed by the arrival of Saunders and the new additions to the backroom team, and, ahead of tonight’s trip to Leicester (7.45pm), believes the club’s fortunes will pick up.

“It has been a very frustrating 18 months or so here,” says the captain.

“We ended up losing probably our three best players at the start of the season - things change and the squad has now got a completely different look to it.

“Stears and Zubey have gone now as well and I am sure the manager will be bringing in the players he wants.

“We have got some good young players coming through such as David Davis and Danny Batth and Anthony Forde and below them Jack Price - I think the future is bright.

“It is a bit of a transitional period for the club but it happens in football and we will come through it.

“Even Manchester United won title after title after title and then had a few years when players were coming to the end of their careers and others were coming through and they weren’t so great for a couple of years.

“So it can happen even to the very best of teams.

“We’ll have a move-around of players but it is still a great club.

“The fans have been great in turning up every week and I am sure things will improve.

“We’ve got a new manager – the players really like him and his staff.

“It’s a shame we didn’t see the game through on Saturday because if I we had I think everyone would be thinking a lot differently this week.

“But we didn’t, and not getting a result against Blackpool has made Leicester a really big game.”

Of course tonight’s game takes place against the backdrop of the transfer window closing at 11pm, with Wolves still trying to bring in some fresh blood.

Henry insists the players will be completely unaffected by all that come 7.45pm, leaving anything behind the scenes to ‘chief executives and agents’.

Whilst acknowledging a trip to face second placed Leicester is going to be a fairly tough proposition, the midfielder believes Wolves have it within their capabilities to win the game having defeat the Foxes on home soil back in September.

“Nigel Pearson has done a very good job at Leicester,” says Henry.

“They have paid a lot of money for some good players there and have got two very good strikers in Wood and Nugent.

“So far they have shown true to their form in terms of the quality in their squad.

“We did manage to beat them earlier in the season and there is no reason why we can’t do it again.

“Us, Bolton and Blackburn have all struggled and I am sure we all thought we would do well and bounce back up and it’s been far from that.

“But we have got to dust ourselves down and get ourselves back to playing how we know we can.

“The manager has come in with fresh ideas and there is not a doubt in my mind he will be a success at this club.

“Somehow we have got ourselves into a rut but under the new manager we will improve and had ground out a couple of results before the Blackpool game - sooner or later we are going to win games.”